IT Innovation | Enterprise Social Media

Get Ready for Enterprise Video

If you’re an IT innovator, you’ve probably been ready for enterprise video for awhile now. If you work in a large business, you’ve likely seen an enterprise video – any taped corporate event technically counts. If you haven’t heard of enterprise video, it should be in touch with your company shorty.

It’s no coincidence an article written by Lucy Kellaway on enterprise video made The Economist‘s Business section of The World in 2011. The article heralds 2011 as the year that “companies begin to say goodbye to the written word. The basic unit of communication will no longer be sent out in emails. It will be shot in pictures and shown on video.” I say, “Hallelujah, sister Lucy. Amen!”.

Savvy HR departments are likewise developing a keen interest in enterprise video, having figured out the next generation of corporate leaders likely don’t tweet, preferring instead the richer media experience of Facebook. The argument goes that strong companies need strong leaders, who by necessity must be strong communicators in new media. This should be a wake up call for a generation of aspiring storytellers and performers who ended up cashing in an adolescent dream for a job in middle management. This is their opportunity to lose because charisma and showmanship are now critical in selling a corporate vision to staff.

It should come as no surprise then, that enterprise video plays a big role in my work this year, where one of my top projects is building a proof of concept enterprise tv service much like YouTube, but inside the company firewall. The project goes beyond the dissemination of corporate propaganda, allowing employees to upload and share encrypted video content freely.

The implications of enterprise video are wide ranging and disruptive to a corporation, affecting corporate development, brand, productivity, IT infrastructure, employee communications and ultimately leadership. It should be an interesting year, indeed.